Microsoft Azure is a powerful cloud environment with various services, applications, and tools. Businesses can build, deploy, maintain, migrate, and upgrade IT infrastructure on the cloud. Here, we’ll discuss the steps on How to ensure a smooth Azure Migration.
Microsoft Azure is a cloud platform that offers a range of cloud-based services, technologies, and tools to various business organizations from around the globe. Businesses use Azure to build, deploy, and host their applications and IT frameworks on the cloud. It offers scalability, security, and tailormade services.
While there are many other cloud service providers, Amazon (AWS), Google (Cloud), and Microsoft (Azure) continue to be the top three vendors, owning a combined market share of 65% in the first quarter of 2023. Microsoft has steadily gained its market share over the last three years to touch 23% in Q1 of 2023. The company has generated $22.1 billion through Intelligent Cloud sales for the same period. This includes Azure’s services and other cloud computing offerings.
Business enterprises can rely on Azure consulting service providers to migrate their data and IT systems to the cloud platform. The consulting firms offer end-to-end solutions to streamline the process and minimize disruptions. In this blog, we’ll find out how to seamlessly migrate your data to Azure.
How would you ensure the smooth migration of applications into the cloud?
According to the latest forecast by Gartner, the global end-user spending on public cloud services is estimated to grow by 21.7% from 2022 to 2023 to touch $597.3 billion. The report also says that 75% of organizations will adopt a digital transformation model and use the cloud as their primary platform by 2026. Additionally, the SaaS spending in 2023 is projected to be $197 billion, registering a growth of 17.9% from last year.
Azure Migrate is the process of migrating, optimizing, and modernizing your data and systems to host them on a cloud platform. It has an extensible framework to facilitate third-party integrations and supports varied use cases. It includes pre-migration stages like discovery, evaluation, sizing, etc., for data, applications, and infrastructure. The Azure Migrate hub has a range of tools to speed up the process and minimize the risk of errors and data loss. Azure experts with Microsoft certification have access to these tools to complete the process successfully.
Migrating data and infrastructure to Azure is a step-by-step process that involves different tools and applications. It can be categorized into the following:
The first step is to identify the databases ready for migration to Azure. Here, businesses need to create the Azure Migration Strategy after evaluating the benefits and challenges of the process. What aspects to consider during migration? Which challenges to overcome?
This is the migration stage where experts use Azure Migrate or the Azure Database Migration Service offered by Microsoft to automate the process. It saves time and minimizes the risk of interruptions or errors when the task is performed manually.
Once the databases are migrated to Azure, they should be optimized to deliver better results. It is a post-migration process necessary to increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, and scale resources. This allows businesses to fully use Azure’s capabilities to streamline their processes.
Though monitoring is considered the final step, it is a continuous process to measure the health of the databases, applications, systems, etc. This gives organizations more control over the performance of their IT infrastructure and regulates the operations in the Azure environment.
Businesses are moving from on-premises databases and storage centers to remote cloud solutions for greater agility, flexibility, scalability, and efficiency. However, cloud migrations are complex and should be handled by experts. Hiring Azure consulting services for data migration will save time, reduce risk, and increase overall performance.
Start by examining the on-premises workloads and databases to determine which ones need priority migration to the cloud. Contrary to the general opinion, moving your entire IT infrastructure and outdated databases to the cloud may not be a smart move. It could also lead to greater costs. For example, migrating virtual machines to Azure is expensive. Building one directly on the cloud and setting up integrations will be a better option. Assess every database, application, and tool used in the enterprise and shortlist the ones that can be migrated.
The next step is to determine the amount or volume of data that needs to be transferred to Azure. The transition duration will depend on this as large databases take more time and cause give rise to certain complications. Azure experts will find the best method to migrate the data to minimize downtime and glitches. Prioritize business-critical data necessary for everyday use so that employees won’t face delays or have to pause daily operations. That way, businesses can prevent losses and ensure customers are not affected by the process.
An easier way to prioritize and prepare for data transfer is by categorizing data. It helps optimize the storage strategies and manage Azure workloads. Basically, data is classified into two types – hot and cold.
Hot data refers to the databases and information employees need access to for their day-to-day work. It is business-critical information necessary for everyday decision-making. This data is prioritized and migrated at the earliest. Cold data is historical and other relevant information that is not vital for daily work but is still important for the business. This data can be migrated over time after choosing more affordable cloud storage options.
It’s time to choose and decide on the best data transfer strategy to migrate it on-premises to Microsoft Azure. One method is to use the Azure Backup Service to secure cold data and migrate the applications to the cloud. Then restore the data in the new cloud infrastructure. Another method is to use the Azure Import/ Export service to move large volumes of data by sending the disk drives to the Azure data center. Microsoft Azure consulting companies will determine the best approach based on your data volume, project timeline, and budget.
Businesses tend to focus on the present moment when migrating data to Azure. However, the migration strategy should address the short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals of the establishment. Short-term goals help in prioritizing data, while mid and long-term goals provide the basis for post-migration and optimization services. Considering a broader perspective will ensure the enterprise can be functional throughout and achieve consistent performance. It also helps secure Azure workloads and strengthen system security.
Why should organizations handle the entire process on their own when Azure data engineering service providers are here to help? Talk to a reputed consulting firm to take over the migration process and handle the tasks from start to finish. Azure experts will work with your in-house teams to plan, implement, and monitor data migration to Azure.
Finally, businesses should choose the migration strategy before beginning the actual process. So, how do they choose the right migration strategy for the workloads? It can be done by evaluating the existing systems, requirements, and available options to identify the most suitable strategy. The following strategies are preferred by organizations:
Also known as repackage, refactoring is where changes are made to the applications (including code changes) to enhance their performance on the cloud. This strategy is suitable for critical apps that can be upgraded or modernized to deliver better output.
Rehosting is a fast and straightforward strategy where data and applications are moved to the cloud without making changes. It works best for legacy systems, though it can lead to less efficiency for other apps.
As the name suggests, a rearchitect is where the databases, applications, and infrastructure are revamped for greater flexibility and efficiency on the cloud. This strategy is complex and time-consuming but unlocks the potential of the Azure infrastructure.
Rebuilding is the process of starting from scratch and developing new applications on the cloud. The latest custom-built infrastructure will replace the existing on-premises model. It is an extensive project but beneficial when enterprises want to avoid middleware or get rid of licensed software.
Azure migrations are popular due to the versatility of the cloud platform and the plethora of services it provides. Nevertheless, businesses should consider the below aspects before initiating data migration to Azure.
Don’t ignore the bandwidth and network latency when migrating large volumes of data and applications to the cloud. If the LAN or WAN cannot support the process, it can cause the whole thing to crash or corrupt the data.
Even with expert guidance, the risk of error is not completely eliminated. Keep rollback options open in case of delays or unexpected challenges. Don’t take more risks than necessary and lose precious data.
Another of the main factors that must be considered before migrating an application to the cloud is the possibility of business continuity with little or no disruptions. Even though Microsoft has a robust ecosystem, outages, and compatibility issues may arise.
Though public cloud services are cheaper than private cloud platforms, they come with issues like noise, bandwidth limitations, etc. Determine the budget for migrations and choose the cloud services accordingly.
Managing Azure-based apps is vastly different from working with on-premises systems. It requires expert skills and knowledge. Partner with Azure consulting firms for migration and post-migration maintenance services.
Data security and compliance are an integral part of the process. However, businesses should have definite security measures to protect the infrastructure on the cloud platform. Fortunately, the Azure marketplace has many options to choose from.
Planning is essential to ensure a smooth Azure migration. Take time to consider all possibilities, roadblocks, and other aspects to find the best migration method. Assessing issues like data security, network limitations, etc. It can minimize losses and reduce pressure on the in-house team. Partnering with an Azure consulting company will be beneficial as the service provider will offer the best solutions based on the organization’s requirements and budget. Talk to a Microsoft Certified Partner to know more.
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